Politicians of both parties listened when Americans worried about immigration in the 1920s and 1950s.
President Biden continues to test the nation’s tolerance for chaos on the Mexican border, and it may well cost him a second term. The White House regards illegal immigration as an afterthought, even though poll after poll ranks it as a top priority for voters.
Donald Trump’s ability to turn border security into a winning campaign issue was one of several ways he shocked the political press eight years ago. For decades people had vented to pollsters about undocumented immigrants but then allowed some other issue—taxes, abortion, gun control—to decide their votes. Mr. Biden is gambling that voters will return to pre-Trump form, that while they may be annoyed by the migrant situation, other concerns ultimately will determine who they support on Election Day. He might be right, but I wouldn’t take that bet.
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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator. Follow him on Twitter here.
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